Friday, November 20, 2015

Queensland Teachers Human Rights Stand

Queensland Teachers’ Union members at Yeronga State High School are taking a historic stand on a human rights issue, and for the first time have taken industrial action in support of their campaign, with a one-hour stopwork meeting this week, an action backed by many local students and parents.

As one of the schools that provide outstanding support for refugee and asylum-seeker communities in Brisbane, Yeronga teachers, students, community members  and school leaders have been campaigning for the release of Mojgan Shamsalipoor from detention since her removal to Darwin in August.

Ms Shamsalipoor is a popular student who inspires her teachers, friends  and  fellow pupils with her sunny nature and determined optimism, despite the fact she has faced severe hardships, including rape and the threat of forced marriage, and lack of water on her journey here.

The young Iranian woman  was just a few months from graduating at Yeronga State when she was forcibly removed from the Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation Centre where she had been staying and taken to the Darwin detention centre after a failed visa application.

She has continued to show her dedication to study and remains hopeful, even though she is being held away from her husband and family in a high-security facility thousands of kilometres from her school and home.

Yeronga teacher Jessica Walker saw Ms Shamsalipoor daily while she was studying at the school, and says the brave young woman is the human face of a brutal system that puts genuine refugees at risk and denies the Australian community worthwhile citizens who want to work and contribute to their new country.

“Mojgan inspires all of us — she’s just a beautiful young woman and you walk away feeling more positive after you meet her,” says Ms Walker, Queensland Teacher’s Union (QTU) representative at the school.

“Despite what she’s gone through, she feels incredibly grateful just to be here.”

More than 10 schools came out to back the action, and students left classes to sit across the fence opposite their teachers to show their solidarity with the campaign to allow Moigan to apply for a bridging visa. There were no penalties imposed over the stopwork.

There are more than 700 pupils at Yeronga, and at least 50 are seeking asylum in Australia.

“I’m proud of our students and I think being exposed to some tough stories has broadened their outlook,” says Ms Walker, 34, from Paddington, Brisbane.

“I just got the most wonderful letter from one of our Year 12 students saying they are inspired by our actions and Mojgan’s plight — I was really impressed and a little bit emotional.”

“We’re not asking that Mojgan be given asylum, just that her case be given a fair hearing,” says Ms Walker.

“We have grave concerns for her emotional wellbeing, and that of other similar students who are experiencing increased distress and a sense of hopelessness.”

Ms Shamsalipoor fears returning to Iran, having arrived in Australia by boat in 2012 after fleeing sexual abuse and an arranged marriage to a man in his 60s.

Her asylum claim was rejected last year after she had lived in Australia for two years on a bridging visa.

“Mojgan and people like her just want to become contributing members of our society — able to work and study here, and give back to their new country,” says Ms Walker.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton revealed in September he was personally considering a request to help Ms Shamsalipoor, who is married to an Australian permanent resident, to be allowed to apply for a partner visa, after he was approached by Coalition MP Natasha Griggs.

The one-hour stopwork meeting and rally held this week were the latest steps in the #FreeMojgan campaign, which includes a petition. Momentum is building as other unions and community groups express their support and their concern over the mistreatment of children and young people seeking asylum.

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